Hiteshdand,
Many thanks for the post. I was going to bow out as it seemed I was irrelevant and maybe not welcome.
I was in Delhi in February for a vacation. I found it exhilarating, infuriating, exciting, nearly dangerous, abuzz with life and a dizzying array of contrasts. The new airport terminal is probably in the top 5 in the world - it's amazing 10+. The overcrowding and dense traffic were awful. Here you will never have a baby shoved in your face because it's hungry.
Canada's economy is based on growth through immigration. We are the second largest county in the world with only 35m people. Most Canadians live within 100 miles of the border. Polls show that the public overall support the immigration policies and they are they same for all political parties. In the next five years assuming that our recovery continues I see the quotas being raised.
I think one of your first impressions of the city will be how open and uncrowded it is. As for empty towns, that's not really a factor, but remember if you are looking for work an empty town would not be viable anyway. Most immigrants come to Toronto and to a lesser extent Montreal and Vancouver. There are many programs and services to help them get settled. (Or as a last resort there is me LOL).
I am frankly astonished at how quickly immigrants, particularly from India and China manage to buy a suburban home, probably with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and a garden. I have a Chinese friend who arrived with nothing, sold phone plans door to door, put himself through a computer course, got a job with IBM and in 6 years had a large, detached 4 bedroom house. Native born Canadians and most European immigrants simply don't have that drive.
You are right, we have a serious problem of an aging population and we are going to need a lot of skilled people in the coming years. The baby boomers are now retiring in record numbers. Ontario will need over 40,000 I.T. people over the next 5 years.
I believe that your civil service leaves a lot to be desired and that getting any kind of service or paperwork is slow and painful. Here the government offices are highly technical - you can do most things on line, and the staff are friendly and helpful. Bribery here is unthinkable.
You talked about overcrowding and that of course is relative. Many newcomers will share an apartment to save money on rent, but they will have 2 bedrooms, maybe 2 bathrooms and quite a lot of living space and a balcony. You can rent a decent two bedroom in Toronto for $1,000 per month which split between two is very manageable. I went for a long walk yesterday and took some pictures. There is not a soul in any of them and I live in the city and walked through a pleasant park.
The big craze in Toronto right now is condos and they are going up all over. Young professionals love the easy lifestyle and want to be near the action of restaurants, bars, theatres and other entertainment venues. We have a lot of overseas buyers also who see them as a safe investment and rent them out.
I think the proof is in the pudding - no one seems to ever go back home!
Be good.
MB
